1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an antenna apparatus, and more particularly to an antenna apparatus which has freedom in exterior design.
2. Description of Related Art
An antenna apparatus, which is mounted on a roof and the like of an automobile, is provided with an antenna rod which is in an upright position or a lying position (for example, see DE-A1-10 2005 038 169) In the antenna apparatus disclosed in DE-A1-10 2005 038 169, a male screw (5) is disposed at a base end of the antenna rod (2) A female screw (4) is disposed at a cylindrical rotary drum (3). The antenna rod is connected to the rotary drum by the male screw with the female screw. The rotary drum is rotatably attached to a case (1). An edge portion is formed between an upper end face (11) and a rear end face (12) of the case. When the antenna rod is in an upright position, the base end face of the antenna rod and the upper end face of the case are contacted so that the antenna rod is supported in an upright position. When moving the antenna rod from the upright position to the lying position, the male screw is loosened by rotating the antenna rod so that the base end face of the antenna rod is separated from the upper end face of the case. Then, the antenna rod is rotated rearward. Accordingly, the base end face of the antenna rod passes over the edge portion between the upper end face and the rear end face of the case so that the antenna rod lies rearward. Since the base end face of the antenna rod is contacted to the rear end face of the case, the antenna rod is supported in the lying position.
A disadvantage of the antenna apparatus disclosed in DE-A1-102005038169 lies in that, in order to support the antenna rod at two positions, an external face of the case needs to have polygonal shape in side view. With this structure, there is no design freedom in external shape of the case.